Holiday Kitchen Survival Guide: 4 Steps to Easy Entertaining
Holiday Kitchen Survival Guide: 4 Steps to Smooth Seasonal Entertaining.
Give yourself an early present and reorganize your kitchen now so that it's fully functional and ready for holiday cooking and baking.
When you've got four pots on the stove, a turkey in the oven, a ham in the microwave and 18 hungry people in the living room - you'll be glad you did.
1 Cleaning Out.
First, stash and store everything you probably won't use this holiday season. To be organized and sane, you need space - and lots of it! Open up your cupboards, cabinets, drawers, pantry, refrigerator and freezer and take everything out.
Clean the empty area and return only those items you are going to use over the next two months. Pack up the rest and store in the garage.
Cabinets and cupboards: Replace the summer patio ware in your cabinet with your holiday serving dishes and good china. Find and clean the roasting pan, bread pans, etc. Replace your everyday glasses and cups with ones that match.
Drawers: Put your
silver
in a handy drawer. Find the holiday gadgets (the basting thing, candy thermometer, meat thermometer, cheese knives, cheese holders, etc.). Tuck barbecue skewers, forks, etc. in for a nice winter nap in the attic.
Pantry: Be ruthless here. Is anyone really going to eat that six-month-old opened bag of Oreos? Toss. What about the cans of soup no one liked? Charity bins. Have the spices been there as long as the house? Trashcan. Make room for foods that people are actually going to eat.
Refrigerator and freezer: Nothing says "ick" like a dirty refrigerator. Now's the time to
clean the fridge
from top to bottom. Toss the stuff with
old expiration dates
and any jellies dating back to the last century. Make room for the goodies you're going to be cooking.
2 Regroup.
Use this occasion to rethink your cabinet and drawer plan. Which cupboard is really best for the glasses? Which counter is more convenient for the coffeemaker? What drawer should the corkscrew be in? A lot of the time, we tend to leave things where we first put them, even if that spot turns out to be inconvenient. Create a new, workable layout.
Divide your kitchen into activities areas so you and your family won't be falling all over each other as you work. Consider grouping items as follows into three centers:
1 a
cooking center:
Near the stove to store pots, pans, potholders, cooking utensils, oils, etc. works best.
2 a baking center: Even those who despise cooking succumb to a little baking during the holidays. And if you make it easy for yourself, you may do it more often. Gather your recipes, flours, yeast, baking powder, pans, cookie cutters, mixers and bread machine in one corner of the kitchen. Bring on the cookie exchange!
3 a kid center: We want the kids to be close - just not underfoot. Set aside a cabinet (in a far corner of the kitchen) that's for just their stuff - kiddie cups, paper plates, napkins, straws, crackers, boxed juices. Then the can get their own snack after you give them the OK.
3 Shop and stock.
Stock up on the following foods in your pantry and/or refrigerator for on-the-spot entertaining:
* Cheese and crackers
* Chips and dips
* Cookies, biscuits and scones
* Fresh vegetables
* Nuts
* Miniature frozen quiches and/or pizzas
* Wines
* Soft drinks
* Wines
* Sparkling waters
4 Make your battle (menu) plans.
Plan your main holiday meals now. Check which ingredients you have on hand; put the rest on your shopping list. Find holiday recipes and put them in one binder in your kitchen. Find serving dishes for each entree and make sure they are clean and ready to roll.
